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Event Background
EVENT
Workshop on PPP Capacity Building
2026 Workshop Series on Public-Private Partnership Hot Topics
Workshop on PPP Capacity Building
13 May

2026

TIME: 13 May 2026, 19:00 - 21:00 (GMT+8)

LOCATION: Virtual

WORKSHOP RECORDINGS
DOWNLOAD PRESENTATIONS
SUMMARY

Workshop Series

Building on the success of the 2024 and 2025 series, the 2026 Workshop Series on Public-Private Partnership Hot Topics is designed for public-private partnership (PPP) professionals affiliated with governments, financiers, developers, consultants, contractors, and other stakeholders. The three-part series will offer participants opportunities to:

  • Better understand the latest “frontier issues” in PPPs, such as developments in PPP capacity building, PPP transaction design, and data center PPPs
  • Learn from, and collaborate with, experts from leading International Financial Institutions (IFIs), who will share their latest thinking and tools
  • Learn practical approaches to addressing common PPP project development and implementation challenges from experienced PPP units in developing countries
  • Engage with other practitioners and build stronger professional networks
  • Request further support through the feedback survey at the end of each workshop

Certificate

Participants will receive a certificate at the end of each session upon completing a feedback form.

Workshop on PPP Capacity Building

The first session of the 2026 Workshop Series on Public-Private Partnership Hot Topics explored PPP capacity building, with an emphasis on experience sharing on international capacity building platforms and national efforts aimed at strengthening PPP ecosystems. The workshop featured a presentation on the updated APMG PPP Certification Program, the leading global certification program for PPPs, as well as insights from IFIs, PPP centers, and practitioners working on PPP project development and implementation.

AGENDA
SPEAKERS
Panelists
SAM BARR
SAM BARR
Infrastructure Specialist, World Bank
<p>Sam is an Infrastructure Specialist at the World Bank Group, and the Global Knowledge Lead for the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF). He leads the development of global best practice tools around infrastructure finance and supports the World Bank’s efforts to implement solutions at scale.</p> <p>Prior to joining the World Bank in 2024, Sam held senior roles at the G20 Global Infrastructure Hub, Australian Governments, and in the private sector. Over his career, Sam has worked on some of the biggest infrastructure projects in Australian history, as well as major asset recycling programs, policy developments, and capacity building initiatives around the world.</p> <p>Sam is a former Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars and has qualifications in economics and international affairs.</p>
JINANE GHOSH
JINANE GHOSH
Member, WAPPP Executive Committee and Co-Chair, Young PPP Professionals Chapter
<p>Jinane Ghosh is a Member of the World Association of PPP Units and Professionals (WAPPP) Executive Committee and co-chairs of the Young PPP Professionals Chapter. She is an Associate Director at Jacobs Middle East, specializing in infrastructure advisory and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). With wide-ranging experience across sectors, including health, social infrastructure, and broader public services, she leads strategic advisory, privatization strategies, commercial and technical transaction&nbsp;advisory projects that drive sustainable development and value for both governments and communities.</p>
VERA BARKATINA
VERA BARKATINA
Head, Technical Assistance Coordination Office, Eurasian Development Bank
<p>Vera Barkatina is Head of the Technical Assistance Coordination Office at the Eurasian Development Bank, where she oversees the preparation, structuring, and monitoring of technical assistance initiatives linked to investment and development activities across the Eurasian region. Since joining the Bank in 2024, she has been involved in the administration of complex multi-stakeholder TA operations focused on project preparation, institutional development, and investment mobilization.</p> <p>Prior to joining the EDB, Vera accumulated more than 10 years of experience in strategy consulting and grant fund management, working across boutique consultancies and in-house corporate environments. Her expertise spans international cooperation, stakeholder engagement, and the structuring of cross-sector initiatives at the intersection of public policy, development finance, and strategic transformation.</p> <p>Vera holds a degree in Financial Management from Bocconi University and is currently a PhD Candidate researching the evolution of technical assistance practices and their role in investment mobilization in Central Asia. Her research interests include multilateral development finance, project preparation facilities, and the transformation of technical assistance from donor support into a strategic instrument for development banking.</p>
FEVEN TEWOLDE
FEVEN TEWOLDE
Program Manager, Africa Infrastructure Fellowship Program
<p>Feven Tewolde is a senior project manager and multilateral cooperation specialist with over a decade of experience bridging public policy and international development. Currently leading the Africa Infrastructure Fellowship Program (AIFP), she drives strategic partnerships to strengthen the capacity of senior African civil servants to design and deliver sustainable, bankable, and resilient infrastructure projects.</p>
ELEAZAR E. RICOTE
ELEAZAR E. RICOTE
Assistant Secretary and Deputy Executive Director, Department of Economy, Planning and Development, Philippines Public-Private-Partnership Center
<p>ASec. Eleazar E. Ricote is Deputy Executive Director (Assistant Secretary) at the Public-Private-Partnership Center (PPPC) of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev). He is a Career Executive Service Officer II (CESO II) with more than twenty years of technical and managerial experience in infrastructure and development undertakings.</p> <p>Eli is a recognized infrastructure development professional in the country and the ASEAN region. He represents the Philippines and the PPP Center in official dialogues and collaborative initiatives of various infrastructure and PPP networks in the country, the ASEAN, and the Asia-Pacific.</p> <p>He is a scholar of public administration, governance, public policy, project management, local governance, public enterprise, and PPPs. He has delivered lectures as faculty in various higher educational institutions, written and published papers on the same topics.</p> <p>Eli has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Public Administration (major in Public Policy and Program Administration) from the University of the Philippines.</p> <p>Over the years, he also took formal Executive Courses from various national and international academic institutions such as the Infrastructure in a Market Economy Course from Harvard University - Kennedy School of Government (2014), the Public Policy and Private Sector Development Course from the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and John Hopkins University’s Advanced International Studies (2017), and the Public Policy, Leadership and Management Course from the Carnegie Mellon University-Australia (June 2021).</p> <p>He was recognized as UP-National College of Public Administration and Governance Outstanding Alumni Awardee (2014), ASEAN Leader under the ASEAN Foundation's Leaders’ Programme (2016), and Finalist to the 2023 Presidential Gawad Career Executive Service (CES) Award.</p> <p>Finally, Eli is a commissioned officer in the Philippine Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He completed (as class salutatorian) the Master's in National Security Administration (MNSA) degree from the NDCP in 2023. He wrote a thesis on the Self-Reliance Defense Posture (SRDP) and is currently assisting the Department of National Defense’s designated Office for Defense Technology Research and Industry Development (DTRID).</p>
SITHEMBISO (KHAYA) MKHWANAZI
SITHEMBISO (KHAYA) MKHWANAZI
Senior Manager, Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Government Technical Advisory Center, National Treasury, South Africa
<p>Sithembiso (Khaya) Mkhwanazi is a Senior Manager in Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Contract Management, and Project Advisory, with extensive public-private partnership (PPP) and infrastructure experience. He works for the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC), an entity of the National Treasury, focusing on contract management support. The government entity specializes in PPP implementation and infrastructure development support.</p> <p>As a senior manager, he is responsible for providing management support for all PPP projects at the delivery stage in the country and serves as a Project Advisor on new projects.</p> <p>Khaya’s highest qualifications include an M.Sc. in Building (2024), a Postgraduate Diploma in Property Development (Facilities Management) from Wits University (2021), and a Master of Business Leadership from UNISA SBL (2018). He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Construction Management at the University of Johannesburg.</p>
Moderator and Strategic Lead
EDE IJJASZ
EDE IJJASZ
Senior Advisor to the CEO, MCDF
<p>Ede Ijjasz is currently Senior Advisor to the CEO of the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance, MCDF. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of several organizations and foundations, including the Global Reporting Initiative, GRI, one of the first organizations that developed ESG standards, currently used by more than 10,000 organizations in over 100 countries.</p> <p>Mr. Ijjasz had a long career at the World Bank, where he was part of the senior leadership responsible for the sustainable development, infrastructure, and climate change portfolios. He has worked in more than 90 developing and emerging economies in all regions of the world – from fragile and conflict-affected countries to high-middle-income countries. Mr. Ijjasz was responsible for about $80B of investments in and close to 800 policy reports during his World Bank career. He oversaw the implementation of the social standards of the World Bank’s ESG framework in the entire World Bank portfolio.</p> <p>Mr. Ijjasz has a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has been a lecturer at Tsinghua, Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown universities.</p>
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AUDIENCE

The workshop was tailored for staff from PPP units, ministries of finance and planning, and PPP practitioners from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia. Project developers, financiers, contractors, and consulting companies were also welcomed.

FORMAT

The workshop was held virtually. Presentations and discussions were conducted in English. MCDF’s event platform provided simultaneous AI-generated written and audio translation in 60 languages.

Participants engaged through survey apps, and question and answer sessions at the end of each panel discussion.

Video recordings, presentations, and background materials of select workshop content will be uploaded on the MCDF website.

ORGANIZING PARTNERS
  • Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF)
  • Egypt Ministry of Finance
  • African Development Bank (AfDB)
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • Development Bank of Latin American and the Caribbean (CAF)
  • Eurasian Development Bank (EDB)
  • Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) of World Bank
  • World Association of PPP Units and Professionals (WAPPP)
CONTACT

If you would like to learn more about the Workshop on PPP Capacity Building, the full 2026 Workshop Series on PPP Hot Topics, or get in touch with the IFI co-organizers, please contact MCDF’s Ms. Lulu Meng Gu (meng.gu@themcdf.org)